Less than a year after launching, Proudly Said has been shortlisted for LGBTQ+ Podcast of the Year at the Gaydio Awards 2026.
What began as a simple but powerful idea, creating space for everyday queer stories through honest conversation, has grown into a nationally recognised platform celebrating LGBTQ+ lives in all their complexity.
A grassroots podcast, nationally recognised
Being shortlisted for a national LGBTQ+ media award is something I never imagined when I pressed record on the first episode. Proudly Said is created entirely by one person, with no production company, no studio, and no financial backing. Every episode is recorded in spaces where guests feel comfortable, with nothing more than a smartphone, handheld microphones, and a shared sense of trust in telling our stories.
Since launching, the podcast has grown steadily and organically:
Over 2,000 downloads
38 episodes published so far
5 more already scheduled
Conversations booked and planned that will take the podcast to episode 50
That’s 50 unique LGBTQ+ stories, each one offered generously by someone willing to sit down and say something proudly.
What Proudly Said is really about
At its heart, Proudly Said exists to document queer lives as they are actually lived. The podcast centres voices from across the LGBTQ+ community, from activists and creatives to people simply navigating work, relationships, identity, grief, joy, and everything in between.
There’s no requirement to be famous, polished, or “successful”. Just honest.
That commitment to everyday storytelling is what makes this shortlist recognition feel especially meaningful. It’s not about scale or spectacle, but the stories of everyday people.
Standing alongside podcast heavyweights
The LGBTQ+ Podcast of the Year category includes some huge names, Gossip Gays and The Pieces with Bimini. These are well-established, high-production podcasts with major platforms and personalities behind them.
To see Proudly Said listed alongside them is both surreal and deeply affirming. It shows that there is room in LGBTQ+ media for smaller, independent, community-based projects, and that quieter stories still matter.
Built by community, sustained by trust
This shortlist belongs as much to the guests as it does to the podcast itself. Every person who has shared their story has shaped what Proudly Said is becoming, and every listener who has pressed play, shared an episode, or recommended it to a friend has helped it grow.
Following the announcement, The Guide Liverpool published a feature, highlighting the podcast’s Liverpool roots and its national reach. That local-to-national journey mirrors the heart of the project itself.
What comes next
Regardless of the final outcome at the Gaydio Awards, this recognition marks an important moment for Proudly Said. It’s a reminder that community storytelling has power, that independent platforms can travel far, and that queer voices do not need permission to be heard.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the podcast so far, especially those who trusted it with their stories. This shortlist is yours too.
🎧 Proudly Said is available wherever you get your podcasts.